


C10H12N2O

by saruma_aki



Series: Elements and Chemicals [5]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Battle, Cosmic Cube, F/M, Family Feels, Feels, Fluff, Gen, General, Hurt and comfort, M/M, Multi, lots of comfort, threat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-04
Updated: 2016-07-04
Packaged: 2018-07-21 14:42:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7391323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saruma_aki/pseuds/saruma_aki
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With a new threat having presented itself, Loki finds his mind tumbling down the treacherous path of 'what if'.</p>
            </blockquote>





	C10H12N2O

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, the fifth edition is here!
> 
> Guys, you are all going to hate me by the time this is done.
> 
> This is the second to last edition--that's right, you heard me. There are only six editions and the sixth edition goes up soon, actually, so get ready.
> 
> This one is shorter than the others, but we're reaching the end, so there's reasons for that.
> 
> Anyway, enjoy and stay tuned for the sixth part!
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing. All rights to their respective owners.
> 
> P.S.
> 
> As per usual, this is unbeta'd. I try my best, but I miss things, okay? Sorry.

“I’m getting awfully tired of having to wait for you lot to wake up from unconsciousness,” was the gruff voice from their bedsides as emerald orbs fluttered open, squinting up at the ceiling as his eyes slowly adjusted to the light before they turned to face the man at the foot of his bed.

Grunting, he struggled to push himself up into a sitting position, staring at the man blankly before a slow grin pulled at cracked lips, dirt smudged face brightening.

“We won,” he asked, though it hardly sounded like a question, his voice hoarse and tongue heavy in his mouth. Director Fury nodded his head slowly and relished in the hoarse laugh that followed his confirmation and coughs that soon came after it, holding out a glass of water for the god to drink out of.

 

 

 

 

“My, my, Clint; purple truly does suit you,” he joked, the words slipping out of his mouth before he had even thought them through and he watched the archer jerk in surprise, wide eyes turning to look at him. There was a ring of purple bruising around his neck that made Loki’s heart clench at the mere sight, even without the memories plaguing him.

“Loki,” Clint yelled, stretching his arms out towards the god and he laughed, walking forward and enveloping the blonde in his arms, burying his face in the freshly washed hair. “I’m glad you’re alright,” Clint whispered into his neck, arms tight around his waist.

“As I am glad that you are,” Loki whispered back, stroking his hair softly before pressing a soft kiss to his temple. “You have no idea how worried I was,” he murmured softly, pulling back to look Clint directly in the eyes. “Don’t ever scare me like that again, alright? I may be a mage but even I can’t bring people back to life.”

Clint smiled back, eyes wet with tears and he nodded his head, choking on words and instead choosing to envelope Loki in yet another hug. “How’s Nat?”

“She hasn’t woken up yet, but I paid her a visit and did what I could. She should hopefully be waking up soon,” Loki assured and Clint beamed, letting out a hoot of joy, jumping a bit before being seized by a coughing fit, he hand coming up to hold his throat in a gentle cradle. Loki’s heart ached at the sight and he placed his hand over the bruising, letting the coolness of his skin ease the pain a bit. “After I have rested, I will heal you, I swear.”

Clint’s coughed slowed as he took a long drag of water from the cup next to his bed. “Don’t sweat it. Like you said, I look fabulous in purple.”

 

 

 

 

“Loki,” Steve cried out, standing up and his face was the picture of shock before he was stepping hesitantly closer and Loki soon found himself pulled into a tight hug, crushed against chiseled pectorals and he huffed a soft laugh, wrapping his arms around Steve and returning the hug in kind.

“Steve,” he murmured, brushing a soft kiss to Steve’s cheek, pulling back and looking at Steve seriously, taking in the red rimmed eyes and the puffiness surrounding them. “You’ve been crying,” he whispered and Steve blinked owlishly in surprise before raising a hand to his eyes, like he was shocked by it.

“Oh, I,” he trailed off, pulling back and looking at the ground as if in embarrassment. Loki found himself gently reaching out, taking Steve’s hand in his own, gentle and consoling. “I just—when I saw you all unconscious and hurt; it reminded me of Bucky and I couldn’t bear the thought that I could lose you guys like I lost him…”

Loki’s heart broke and the raven pondered if there would be any pieces of his heart left by the time he was done checking on the members of the team, and he reached out to pull Steve close again, running his fingers through blonde strands. “The only reason James Buchanan Barnes died was because he fell of a train. Not even a bullet wound would have stopped that man from fighting to live for you,” Loki hissed determinedly, looking at Steve with hard eyes. “It would take a fall from a train that high up to kill any of us, trust me, and even then, it might take more. I mean, Tony survived being in outer space.”

Steve laughed, fresh tears streaking his cheeks as he pulled back a step, holding Loki’s shoulders tightly in a gentle grip. “I’m really happy you’re okay.”

“As am I, dear Rogers, as am I…”

 

 

 

 

Tony was sitting on a chair when Loki walked in, fiddling with the arc reactor where it was in his chest, staring blankly at the wall. “I swear, if that’s you again Fury, I am setting up guards at my door.”

“No, but it’s good to know you’re in high spirits,” Loki commented back, enjoying the way Tony full out jumped from his seat, whirling around to look at him with wide brown eyes like what he was seeing was too good to be true.

“We weren’t sure you and Natasha were going to make it,” he breathed, voice hushed like if he spoke any louder it would all be revealed to be some sort of trick and Loki would be blown away like dust. “Is she,” he hesitated, licked his lips before drawing in a shaky breath, “is she okay?”

“She should definitely make it and once I’m up to full strength, she will be completely healed.”

Tony’s breath shuddered out of him and he turned, slowly sinking down into his chair and rubbing his hands over his face, one hand staying fixed over his mouth like it would somehow hold all the emotions in before it then dropped and he took in another trembling breath. “Thank God,” he breathed, voice shaking and Loki walked over, kneeling in front of the man and placing his hands gently on his thighs.

“Do not worry anymore, Tony. We are all fine, I swear it,” he soothed, rubbing his hands up and down the cotton covered legs. The brunette stared down at him, tears dropping from his eyes to fall like bullets into his lap.

Loki’s eyes were immediately drawn to the arc reactor, shining blue and constant. Taking in a shaky breath of his own, he reached his hand up, cupping Tony’s face with it, feeling the scrape of his beard against his palm. “I am so very relieved to know you are alright,” he whispered, tilting the brunette’s head down and leaning up, pressing a cool kiss to his forehead, right between his brows, pulling back to give him a gentle smile.

Tony could only gasp brokenly as he reached out, taking Loki’s hand in his and giving it a firm squeeze, holding it just on the verge of too tight.

That was all the response Loki needed.

 

 

 

 

Bruce was locked in his room, his back turned to the door. Loki slowly slipped in, locking the door behind him as it had been before clearing his throat quietly; watching the slow way Bruce seemed to turn, like he was unsure of what the repercussions would be if he moved quickly. He was a bit green under the collar, but as his eyes landed on Loki, the green went away.

“Please tell me that it’s really you and not some hologram or life model decoy or whatever,” the shy scientist whispered, voice hoarse and Loki smiled, waved his hand and the stool Bruce was sitting on transformed itself into a couch. “You’re really okay,” he breathed, slowly standing but not without looking at the couch in wonderment. “And the others—are they—”

“They’re all okay,” he soothed stepping closer and at the small nod, wrapped his arms around the scientist, pressing him close as he felt the tension in Bruce’s body slowly bleed out as he relaxed into the hold. “Have you not been out to see them?”

Bruce pulled back, shuffling to the couch and sitting down. “No,” he mumbled, running his fingers through the mess that was his hair right then, “I was afraid if I saw them and they weren’t okay, I’d lose control.”

“Well, they are all okay, Bruce,” he whispered and Bruce nodded his head, curls bouncing just slightly and Loki smiled fondly, holding out his hand to the male and hauling him up to his feet. “Now, go and see them. I am certain they’ll be overjoyed to see you.”

 

 

 

When Natasha’s eyes opened it was to the sight of a room filled with all of them Avengers, each one looking down at her anxiously. Her eyes met viridian and the male smiled down at her, his forehead beaded lightly with sweat and he slumped back into the chair beside her bed with a tired, relieved smile.

“How long?” she croaked, accepting the glass of water Clint offered to her with only slight hesitation, sipping it gratefully, the cool liquid doing wonders for her sore throat and dry mouth.

“Four days,” Steve responded, him and Tony the only ones who had been conscious for the whole time. “Clint and Bruce woke up three days ago, Loki woke up yesterday.”

She nodded, setting the glass aside and pushing herself up into a sitting position, taking note that nothing hurt even though she was pretty certain everything should at the moment. She looked over at Loki who looked exhausted but happy in his chair and she couldn’t help but shake her head fondly, a small smile pulling up the corners of her lips.

“Not today, right, Lo?”

Loki’s eyes met her, his grin bright and welcoming, a sight she wanted to have burned into her memory. “Not today,” he agreed with a small laugh, the sound echoing throughout the room.

 

 

 

 

When the Avengers got to the tower, they were met with the sight of Thor sitting in the living room, Jane at his side with Dr. Erik Selvig and a brunette girl who—if memory served him right—was named Darcy Lewis. She had been in Jane’s file as her best friend.

Loki watched them, took Clint’s hand in his own to relax the male who had automatically tensed at the sight of Erik, then promptly gagged because the man had no pants on.

“You have a returned,” Thor greeted, standing up to look at them with a bright smile. Loki barely managed to restrain himself from lunging across the room and strangling the blonde.

All of them could have died—where was Thor when their death had drawn near? Tending to his meager wounds with Jane? Enjoying a post-battle fuck even though the battle hadn’t even been done?

It was only Natasha’s gentle hand on his shoulder that stayed his body, reminded him silently that they were all injured. They could not afford to fight against each other, much less over something small that still had the potential to wound them further.

“We have,” Loki responded, barely managing to keep his tone neutral when all he wanted to do was yell and scream, to rip Thor a new one and send him off with his tail in between his legs.

“That is good. Heimdall has sent word of a trouble brewing in the realms. They are all barricading their gates. All battles have stopped.”

“What do you mean?”

Thor sighed, his expression grim and despite how much Loki wanted to hit him in his obnoxiously good looking face, he knew whatever Thor was about to say was important and hitting him could wait, as much as he didn’t want it to.

“The realms have reason to believe a war is coming, as does Asgard and so should Midgard.”

“War against whom, Thor; stop being so bloody cryptic,” Loki griped, brow furrowing, showing how completely annoyed he was.

“Heimdall is not completely certain, but,” Thor trailed off, hands fiddling for a moment before he straightened, jaw set as he gazed at the six people before him, “he believes it is against Thanos.”

Loki’s heart stopped and he wobbled in his spot, gazing at his brother pleadingly, begging for this to be a joke, but Thor merely looked away, looking somber. That alone took away his urge to punch the blonde as he fought to stay upright, leaning against Steve behind him.

“May the Norns have mercy on us all...”

“Indeed…”

 

 

 

 

“Thanos comes from a race known as the Titanian Eternals; they are superhuman, if you will,” Loki began, looking down at his hands, wishing his fingers would stop playing with a small strand of seidr connecting both of his hands, but he couldn’t help it. Thanos was a powerful opponent. He feared for all of their lives this time.

“He’s a superhuman?”

“Blessed with enormous strength, durability, and stamina, and that’s just the part of his people. He is a mutant among his race, his powers amplified. The books speak of him and if they are right, he has more than just what the average person in his race has.” His voice was low and grim, expression tight and pinched.

“What can he do, Loki?” Bruce coaxed gently and it was only when Tony placed a hand on his shoulder that Loki even noticed he was shaking.

“Thanos, he can,” he drew in a shaky breath, “manipulate matter, can absorb and project massive amounts of cosmic energy; he is capable of telekinesis and telepathy.” Loki wrapped the string on seidr around his finger, trying to stop the shaking in his body, but he couldn’t. He didn’t want his friends to die; he wouldn’t be able to continue on if they did. He was strong, but not that strong. “He is trained in hand-to-hand combat, I would assume, as he was probably trained in the art of war. He’s a genius in all terms of advanced science; his knowledge exceeds that of Midgard.”

He finally had what was denied to him for so long.

He wasn’t ready to lose this.

He wasn’t ready to lose them.

Why couldn’t they catch a break?

“If memory serves me right, he is omnipotent. He got his power from a cube, I believe. The soldiers referred to it as the Cosmic Cube, but none of the books in Asgard’s library spoke of it. I do not know how it even looks like.”

“Why would we need the cube?” Clint interrupted, cocking his head to the side slightly.

“I do not know how else to defeat him,” Loki whispered. “He is too powerful a foe. If Heimdall is correct and we are to face off against him, then I suggest you all pray very hard that we find that cube. It might be our only hope.”

 

 

 

 

Morning found Loki sitting in the shower, letting the spray hit the top his head as he stared down at the running streams of water in a false sense of fascination. Sleep had not found him during the night and he had been left to stare blankly at the ceiling, the rest of the team curled up in dreamless sleeps around him. Even with the spell of dreamlessness, he still could not rest.

The words rang in his head, shook him to his core. All the realms had closed their gates? What they were preparing for was not war, it was complete annihilation—and that was what scared Loki the most.

Thor had returned to Asgard, said Odin wanted to discuss with him what was to happen and that he would send word whenever he could.

“Loki,” a voice called out and he jerked out of his thoughts, looking about himself before slowly tugging the curtain open to reveal a sleep rumpled Bruce with a hesitant expression on his face, though a small smile bloomed in replacement as their eyes met. “I thought something had happened. You’ve been in there for an hour.”

Loki blinked, the vacancy in his gaze disappearing as he blinked back to alertness, looking up at the spray of water before he turned his eyes back to Bruce. “Have I truly been in here that long?” Bruce nodded his head and Loki blinked once more before slowly rising from his sitting position, stretching sore muscles with a quiet groan. “I had not noticed. Thank you for checking on me.”

Bruce gave him a gentle smile before exiting the bathroom quietly.

Loki’s gaze fixed itself on the tiled wall as he stood under the spray a bit longer, letting it wash away the rest of his lingering thoughts before he turned the water off, quickly toweling off and dressing himself in the loose clothing he had chosen for the day.

When he entered the training room, he found the rest of the Avengers already there. Clearly the fear of facing against Thanos, the near certainty of death had gotten to all of them, made them want to try and be at least physically better prepared.

Natasha greeted him by jumping on his back, her legs locking around his waist and arms wrapping around his neck. Clint came to cling to him on his front, legs wrapping his thighs and arms wrapping around his shoulders. Chuckling softly, he walked into the room, the weight of the two not bothering him in the slightest as he moved over to the side of the room.

“Care to play a game, you two?” Loki murmured, laughing as they hopped off, looking at him curiously. Lifting his hands, his let his seidr slip out. While typically his illusions didn’t hold actual flesh and bone bodies, for training purposes, he always made sure they did. In front of him appeared the hulking form of the Titan they were supposed to fight, an exact replica to what he had seen in the books.

“What game is this?” Clint questioned, stepping back a bit from the hulking figure. He was bigger than the Hulk, it was terrifying.

“Find the weaknesses.”

Natasha’s brow furrowed, looking at the hulking purple figure curiously. Tony, Steve, and Bruce had stopped their individual training to look at the figure as well, trailing closer with curious expressions. “What about the basic human weaknesses? Neck, groin, chest, major arteries…”

Loki held out his hand and made an average SHIELD issued dagger appeared in his hand. Gripping it, he turned and stabbed it against the skin, watched as it shattered to pieces before it even made contact. “Weapons are an adequate distraction, but if you use them, you have to keep your eye on them. Telekinesis and matter manipulation, remember? He could turn them against you at any moment.”

“Okay, how about an energy blast? Maybe a sonic blast, discombobulate him or something,” Tony piped up, arms crossed over his chest as he looked at the figure curiously with the genius brain of his.

“It’s a nice idea, however, he can absorb the energy and project it right back at you,” Loki responded. “He has infinite power. What we need to is it nullify that.”

“How, though?” Steve interrupted, frowning, a small bit of fear dancing in the blue depths of his eyes as he stared at the hulking purple beast.

“My best bet is the cube, good Captain.”

“Well, then, I sincerely hope we find it.”

 

 

 

 

Two weeks later, Loki found it, buried in the Sahara Desert under a ridiculous amount of sand. Loki nearly lost his life there, the oppressive heats of the day time nearly hot enough to make him pass out after the first few days, but the chilling cold of the nights made it bearable.

Pulling out of the cube was a chore in and of itself, but once he had it in his hand, he was in SHIELD headquarters, placing it down on the table in front of Director Fury and the Avengers.

“The Cosmic Cube,” he rasped, slumping in a chair in relief, finally off his feet. He was bone tired, even his mind was exhausted at that point. He could feel himself being pulled into the realms of unconsciousness, whispering at him to fall asleep. All he needed was an hour, he’d be fine then.

“Loki,” a soft voice whispered to him, rousing him from the depths of his mind. As his eyes fluttered open, the first thing he registered was the fiery red of the hair in his face before the face in which the red hair was surrounding came into focus. “There you are,” Natasha whispered softly and he groaned quietly.

“How long have I been asleep?”

“About two hours or so,” Natasha responded, helping Loki up to a standing position. He looked at where he had fallen asleep, the uncomfortable chairs of the meeting room. The Cosmic Cube still lied on the table in front of him, everyone else having apparently wisely refrained from touching it. “Are you okay now?”

Loki nodded, rubbing his head with a hand, blinking rapidly to clear away the remnants of sleep from his eyes. “Yeah, I just hadn’t slept at all,” Loki admitted, wincing at her cutting glare. “I thought it more important to find the cube first once I got its location down. It was quite a long way to dig,” he muttered, wiping his eyes as he yawned.

“What are you going to do with it?”

“Thor should be coming tomorrow; Mjolnir is the only thing I can think of to destroy it.”

Natasha nodded and led him out of the room to sleep in a proper bed back in the tower, the Cosmic Cube tucked under his arm.

 

 

 

 

Thor did manage to destroy the cube and Loki found himself infinitely grateful that he had been smart enough to teleport them to the Sahara Desert. The blast from the cube breaking was strong enough to make the winds pick up and made a large crater in the sand, knocking the Avengers clean off their feet and sending Thor flying back.

The Avengers were all thankfully protected by Loki’s seidr, as was Thor, and weren’t injured, but the massive hole where the cube was destroyed spoke of its power, the shards of the cube decaying, crumbling to dust and dispersing like ashes.

They worked in the heat to make to hole less large, eventually just having a large wind created between Thor and Loki to knock the sand into the crater, to fill it somewhat before nature did the rest.

When they returned to the tower, Thor bid them goodbye, saying he had to return to Asgard to continue constructing their war plans should they not succeed.

The words made his chest seize in fear and Loki helped the others gather up the pillows and the blankets, enlarging some of them to make them more mattresses than pillows, clearing the living room of all its trinkets to lay out the large pillows and piles the blankets on top with the smaller pillows.

Everyone clambered on, curling close together and burying themselves in each others’ arms. They were all afraid, a sign of their intelligence. You had to be a fool not to fear the power that Thanos possessed. Hopefully, if destroying the Cosmic Cube worked, then Thanos wouldn’t be omnipotent anymore, meaning they could kill him.

Tony put on a lighthearted comedy for them to watch.

“Mean Girls is a classic. We’ll watch Legally Blonde next. We can’t have anyone dying without knowing good movies,” Tony had announced, handing out a ridiculous amount of bowls full of popcorn, having JARVIS pull up the movie as Loki filled everyone’s cups with soda and later hot cocoa with yet again a ridiculous amount of little marshmallows. Every cup was overflowing with them.

Tonight and the next night and the night after that; these were the nights for them to relax, for them to enjoy each other in every way possible. There was no telling if they would make it through the fight.

Loki didn’t know, Heimdall didn’t know. No warlock could know. Thanos was so powerful, there were so many outcomes. They could all live and succeed, they could all die and fail, and they could all die and still succeed. There was no chance of failing a surviving though.

It was with heavy hearts that they turned their gazes to the screen and attempted to lose themselves in the images and ignore the threat of imminent death lurking just in the shadows.

**Author's Note:**

> The next edition goes up soon, so be ready. I'm excited for it; you'll hate me for it. I'm sorry. I'll apologize in advance. Look forward to it, everyone. The sixth edition is super short, though, so heads up (think of it as more of an epilogue).
> 
> Please feel free to leave me some kudos and comments if you liked this.
> 
> Till next time!
> 
> Feel free to find me on instagram (@saruma_aki); I'd love to talk to you guys.


End file.
